As of today, SEGA and FUNimation have announced that the anime for Sands of Destruction is headed west – and that means a whole lot more latin names and super-awesome-bears-with-eyepatches for all you anime fans.

I first saw the Sands of Destruction (aka World Destruction) anime back when it started releasing in Japan.  My initial thoughts went a little something like this:

• Wow, that’s a really big weapon she’s holding. (Morte)
• This is perhaps the first non-generic “protagonist is out to save the day” anime I’ve seen in a long time.

And finally:

• Oh my god, that bear is awesome.

Once you see Taupy in action, you’ll know exactly what I mean. The character that is perhaps the cutest is also by far the most deadly fighter of them all. I’m not sure if the way he talks will transition to the US version, but in Japanese he adds a little “kuma” to the end of all of his sentences. (“Kuma” means bear in Japanese.)

I’ll cut you so bad-kuma, you’ll wish I didn’t cut you so bad-kuma.

Almost all of the main characters from the game also make apperances, though the storyline between the anime and the game do differ. This makes sense, though, as the anime released before the game’s launch in Japan – spoiling the story isn’t much fun, but I have to say I still very much enjoyed the ending (and what an ending) to this anime. No spoilers from me, but it’s pretty epic.

Any bear with an eyepatch automatically wins +5,000 internets.

The Sands of Destruction anime will be hitting the states in Spring 2010. Until then, we’ll post more news here on the SEGA Blog, and also keep an eye on FUNimation’s site. I also recently got in some swag from Japan for this game – as cool as it is, I’m saving the reveal until just a little closer to release.

For all the anime fans and people who may have seen this in Japanese – which characters are you most interested in so far, or if you’ve seen it, which were your favorites? (Avoid spoilers please!)